Abstract Researchhasshownthatteachereffectivenessiscloselycorrelatedwithimprovedstudentperformance intheclassroom.Thisprojectdescribesaprofessionaldevelopmentexperiencedesignedtoincrease boththecontentknowledgeofteachersandtosharpentheirpedagogicalskills.Thecontentfocusof theprojectwilladdresstheintegrationofbasicconceptsofgeneticswiththemoleculargeneticsof today,andthenewscienceofgenomeengineeringthatwillshapetomorrow.Theprojectwillalsotrain teachersinapedagogythatvaluesquestionsoveranswersandencouragesstudentstodeveloptheir criticalthinkingskills. Theprofessionaldevelopmentexperienceisdesignedaroundtwoone?weeklongworkshops,heldin successivesummers.Teacherswillbeintroducedtoacollectionofinnovativetactileteachingtools designedtofunctionasthinkingtoolsinthehandsofstudents.Inaddition,teacherswillbeintroduced toaseriesofmolecularstoriesofcurrentresearchandshownhowfoundationalconceptsofbiologycan betaughtwithinthecontextofthesestories.Auniquefeatureofthisprojectwilloccurduringthe secondsummerworkshop?hostedbythescienceoutreachgroupsattheBroadInstituteatMITand HarvardortheInnovativeGenomicsInitiative(IGI)atUCBerkeley?whereteacherswillexperience scienceasaprocessofdiscoveryastheyinteractwithresearcherswhoareactivelyinvolvedinthe developmentofgenomeeditingtechnology. ThisprojectiswellalignedwiththeCoSTEMStrategicPlanandtheSEPAprogram'sgoaloftraininga morediversebiomedicalworkforce.Threecohortsoftwenty?fourhighschoolscienceteacherseachwill bedirectlyimpactedbythisproject.Theseteacherswillberecruitedfromourlocal,urbanMilwaukee PublicSchoolsystemandfromanationalpoolofteachers.Duringteacherrecruitment,preferencewill begiventothosewhoteachinschoolswithapredominantlyURMstudentpopulation?suchthata minimumof50%oftheteachersenrolledineachcohortwillservepredominantlystudentswhoare currentlyunder?representedinsciencecareers. ThisprojectrepresentsapartnershipbetweentheMSOECenterforBioMolecularModelingand(i)the scienceoutreachgroupsatTheBroadInstituteandtheIGI,(ii)theProteinDataBank,(iii)Milwaukee PublicSchools,(iv)theCTSIofSoutheasternWisconsin,and(v)R.AltaCharo,anotedbioethicistwith expertiseingenomeediting.